Does the Presence of Cytokeratin Positive Individual Tumor Cells (N0(I+)) in Sentinel Lymph Nodes Affect Clinical Outcomes in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation

• Main Authors: Smith J, Leonard C, Carter DL, Tole S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-08-01
• Series: Breast Cancer : Targets and Therapy
• Subjects: breast sentinel nodes; breast conservation therapy
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/does-the-presence-of-cytokeratin-positive-individual-tumor-cells-n0i-i-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-BCTT

Jamie Smith,1 Charles Leonard,1 Dennis L Carter,2 Shannon Tole1 1Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Littleton, Denver, CO, USA; 2Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Aurora, Denver, Co, USACorrespondence: Jamie SmithRocky Mountain Cancer Centers Littleton, 790 Fillmore St., Denver, Co, 80206, USATel [phone]Email [e-mail]: To report a primary objective clinical outcome of ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence following accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) with N0(i+) (single tumor cells or clusters < 2mm) in sentinel lymph nodes. The secondary objective was to observe any incidence of ipsilateral breast failure.Patients and Methods: Between March 2004 and April 2016, a total of 747 patients were enrolled in one of two APBI (Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation) breast protocols (Phase II NCT01185145 and Phase III NCT01185132). Nineteen patients with N0(i+) disease were treated between February 2005 and December 2015. Patient eligibility included a primary invasive or DCIS tumor size < 3 cm, N0(i+) disease, and margin width of > 2 mm. All enrolled patients presented in this report had sentinel lymph node examinations. Clinical outcomes of ipsilateral breast, axillary and combined regional (breast or axillary) recurrences were analyzed.Results: Median follow-up for all patients was 5 years (1– 8 years). No patient experienced either ipsilateral breast or axillary recurrence.Conclusion: There has been scarce information/reporting of the treatment of patients with cytokeratin positive individual tumor cells N0(i+) with APBI. The authors have presented data which suggest that the successful outcomes of these patients might warrant further study.Keywords: breast sentinel nodes, breast conservation therapy